Infrastructure Insight - Issue 02

This report, the second in a regular series produced by McGinley Support Services in association with  New Civil Engineer, is designed to aid engineers charged with managing and delivering infrastructure projects.

Each report highlights the latest issues affecting six key areas that every busy project manager needs to be abreast of: economics and workload; social and employment; legal and compliance; the political landscape; technological change; and the environment.

In this report we begin by examining how new tax rules are affecting self-employed construction staff – a major issue in an industry with such a high degree of self-employment both on the construction site and in the design office.At a more strategic level we then explore how a new twist on project insurance can help promote collaboration. The concept of project insurance has not proved popular and we examine how the latest take on it is set to make a difference.From a legal and compliance standpoint we highlight the recent toughening of sentencing guidelines for health and safety breaches.And in the context of the political landscape and Brexit we then challenge the latest concerns about migrant workers and the potential for Brexit to trigger a mass skills shortage, particularly in London and the South East. We then examine a real, emerging concern around the use of technology on site – literacy (or lack of) in the workforce. And finally, we consider the environment and use Highways England’sA14 upgrade as a case study in delivering projects in a sensitive way.We hope you find it useful.

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